Proceedings of the 12 th International Coral Reef Symposium, Cairns, Australia, 9-13 July 2012 18D Strengthening science-management partnerships Science and Public Input: Biscayne National Park's Proposed Marine Reserve Elsa Marcella Alvear Rodriguez 1 1National Park Service, Biscayne National Park, 9700 S.W. 328 th Street, Homestead, FL 33033 USA Corresponding author: [email protected] Abstract. Biscayne National Park (Florida, USA), an overfished marine protected area, proposed a 10,522 acre no-take marine reserve in its draft General Management Plan in September 2011, in order to provide snorkelers and divers the opportunity to experience healthy, natural coral reefs. With no standard planning guides for the Department of the Interior regarding marine reserves, the park identified the factors that would lead to enhanced visitor experience (diversity, abundance, and large size of fishes; coral diversity and health; reefs with structure; and presence of shipwrecks), and ensure effective management and ease of enforcement (visual markers and a single reserve instead of multiple reserves). In 2009, the planning team presented to the public a summary of data from universities, other federal agencies, and park scientists, and asked the public to propose the size, shape, and location of the reserve(s). The public-proposed designs were then presented to a panel of scientific reviewers for ranking on which designs were most likely to achieve the desired objective. The park planning team then created a final set of alternative designs to propose in the draft plan that was presented to the public in 2011. The three public meetings were well-attended and comments ranged from supporting a larger marine reserve to questioning the science and intent of the marine reserve. Key words: Biscayne National Park, Marine reserve, Science and management, Public involvement, Planning. Introduction waters and 30% of potential reef habitat, leaving 93% Biscayne National Park (“park”), a unit of the of park waters and 70% of potential reef habitat open National Park Service (NPS), is a predominantly to fishing. The purpose of this zone is to provide (~95%) marine park with over 5000 patch reefs that swimmers, snorkelers, divers, and those who ride a was established in 1968 in order to “preserve and glass bottom boat the opportunity to experience a protect for the education, inspiration, recreation, and healthy, natural coral reef, with larger and more enjoyment of present and future generations a rare numerous tropical reef fish and an ecologically intact combination of great natural beauty” (16 USC Sec. reef system (NPS 2011). Visitors to parks in the 410gg). The legislation also authorized the American West expect to see large healthy trees such management of fishing within the park. The agency as sequoias and redwoods, and large healthy diverse protects park resources and provides services such as populations of big mammals such as bison and elk. ranger-led tours, environmental education, and Similarly, visitors to a subtropical marine park in the conducts science and monitoring on park resources. national park system expect to see healthy coral reefs Despite the park and agency’s missions, the coral teeming with diverse and large fish (Lewis 2011). In reef ecosystems have been in decline in Biscayne 2006, 4.2 million people participated in wildlife National Park, due in large part to anthropogenic watching within the State of Florida, compared to 2.7 pressures including fishing pressure and vessel million people who went fishing (USFWS 2006). groundings as well as a number of factors outside the Urban areas adjacent to the park have a population control of marine park managers such as climate of ~2.5 million people locally and ~6 million people change, nutrient loading, and disease. The park is in regionally; over half a million people visit the park the process of updating its 1983 General Management each year for a nearly 2.5 fold increase since park Plan, in order to guide park staff in the protection of establishment (NPS Public Use Statistics Office 2011). park resources while allowing appropriate and varied The recreational vessel fleet in South Florida has public usage and enjoyment. In September 2011, the grown 444% between 1964 and 1998 (Ault et al. National Park Service released a Draft Environmental 2001), and there are significantly increasing trends for Impact Statement on the proposed General both the number of people participating in fishing Management Plan (GMP) for the park that included a along the east coast of Florida and the number of controversial, 10,522 acre no-take marine reserve fishing trips anglers take (NMFS 2001). Both zone. The proposed zone would comprise 7% of park recreational and commercial fishing occur within the Proceedings of the 12 th International Coral Reef Symposium, Cairns, Australia, 9-13 July 2012 18D Strengthening science-management partnerships park, and technological advances such as fish finders, The proposed marine reserve and monitoring depth indicators, global positioning systems, objectives were planned over a series of two meetings communications systems, improved vessel designs, held in 2008. The planning team included NPS increased engine horsepower, SCUBA, and spearguns, scientists, visitor service and law enforcement have facilitated both commercial and recreational managers, and managers from Dry Tortugas National fishers to reach, locate, and harvest fish. In the Florida Park which also has a marine reserve, albeit for Keys, 77% of the 35 reef stocks are overfished (Ault different purposes. et al. 2001). Within the park, 64% of species were The planning team put forward a list of potential observed less frequently 2006-2007 than they were in criteria for the public to consider during a series of 1977-1981, with mean species richness (including three zone-specific scoping workshops held July 21- fishery-targeted species) also declining in a range 23, 2009. At these meetings, the public was given from 9% to 27% (Kellison et al. 2011). It is widely park maps that indicated coral areas and landmarks accepted among marine scientists that reef health and asked: “Based on the science, would you declines with declining fish populations (Mumby et al. establish a Marine Reserve Zone and if so, where 2007, Mumby & Harborne 2010). Live coral cover of would you put it?” To facilitate decision-making, a all species monitored within the park has declined series of slides with GIS layers showing data pertinent from 8-28% in 1977-1981 to 5-8% (Dupont et al. to the criteria were shown; participants were largely 2008, NPS 2012). separated from their companions and grouped into ten These declines in fish population, fish species tables each representing various stakeholder groups; diversity and live coral cover can be presumed to and each table had two facilitators who guided the adversely affect the experience of visitors who groups into what was hoped to be consensus maps snorkel, dive, or ride a glass-bottom boat. While the with each group’s proposed zoning configuration. park is in a separate partnership planning effort with Criteria recommended by the planning team for the the State of Florida to manage park fishery resources marine reserve design were presented at the public in a sustainable way, the mission of the NPS goes workshop, as described below in no particular order. beyond sustainable fisheries. Park managers concluded that a no-take marine reserve, for the Criteria for marine reserve design purpose of visitor experience and not fishery (1) Public input (see Results). Stakeholder input is management, would successfully achieve the zone’s critical for marine reserve design success. objective of having visitors experience a healthy, (2) Reefs at risk (decision of whether to aim to natural reef, with larger and more numerous tropical protect healthy or low risk vs. threatened reefs or reef reef fish and an ecologically intact reef system. Other components) - The planning committee recommended management alternatives (seasonal closures, catch- protecting healthy corals as it would be more difficult and-release, size and bag limits, etc.) each have their to attain the desired zone objective by protecting the limitations. For example, any type of fishing still less healthy, higher-risk corals. Data layers shared results in derelict fishing gear and fish mortality with the public included percent cover of live coral (S. (Bartholomew and Bohnsack 2005). Marine reserves Miller et. al, unpublished data; D. Lirman have been shown to increase fish populations (Nowlis unpublished data) that indicated a generally low 2000) and size (Bohnsack 2011). Coral reef areas that (almost all <10%) live coral cover, with highest coral are unfished would provide an opportunity for fish to cover along a few mid-channel patch reefs in the obtain larger sizes and consequently have greater southern half of park. reproductive success; unfished areas would also (3) Reef structures with vertical relief and high benefit from intact ecological communities and a rugosity. For criteria (1) and (2), the public was reduction of fishing gear impacts to organisms and shown data layers of benthic cover in the reef areas of benthic habitats. the park. This data layer showed continuous or patchy seagrass, sand, hardbottom, margin reef, patchy reef, Material and Methods and mid-channel patch reefs. There are no federal guidelines for criteria to establish (4) Reef fish diversity and abundance. The public a marine reserve for visitor experience. The NPS was shown data layers for fish species richness (Ault used the planning process established via the National et al. unpublished data) that showed the highest Environmental Policy Act (1969, as amended) to use richness in the northern and southern ends of the park both public input and science to plan the reserve. A on the reef slope and in the southern half of park mid- reasoned and documented scientific approach that shelf patch reefs, with no clear trends north-to-south.